Savers could be in line for a wave of top new National Savings & Investment deals. Chancellor Philip Hammond has already announced a three-year bond to go on sale in late spring. But, as well as announcing the new Savings Bond last week, the Government said it wants NS&I to attract more money from us.

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The payments industry is set for the most radical set of changes since the 1960s partly in a bid to stop the tide of fraud facing current account customers. It proposes a key new safeguard called 'confirmation of payee' which it believes will help prevent financial fraud.

Unveiled in the Autumn Statement, the bond will be available from spring 2017 and pay out the market-leading rate on deposits of between £100 and £3,000. Moneycomms' Andrew Hagger has done the maths and concluded that the bond is 'little more than a token gesture from the Chancellor Philip Hammond, trying to paper over the cracks'.

For the residents of Lees in Greater Manchester Barclays' decision to close the local branch is a disaster. The nearest branch will be more than three miles away in Oldham. In Lees, the average broadband speed is two or three megabits per second (Mbps), compared to a UK average of 29 Mbps. As well as being painfully slow, the connection can cut out at any time.

Nationwide, Britain's biggest building society, is coming to the rescue of towns across the country that have lost their last bank branch. On Friday, the mutually owned organisation confirmed it would return banking to the high street in Glastonbury, Somerset, possibly in time for next year's music festival. It backs a longstanding campaign by The Mail on Sunday to keep a strong banking presence on Britain's high streets.

The decline of Britain's bank branch network and the rise of online banking has led to a growing number of people seeking private banking services where the personal touch remains. Companies such as Metro Bank, which is due to open a new private banking suite on London's Kings Road at the end of this month, claim such services are in demand. Its private banking service is available to anyone with £1million worth of assets or borrowings with the bank. It has just increased the number of staff dedicated to the service by a third.

Crooks are desperate to get their hands on your personal data. Even if they don't use it to raid your bank account, a few key pieces of data are enough to enable them to rack up huge debts in your name. So it's vital you do everything in your power to stop them. Start by following our indispensable eight-step guide to staying safe online.

NatWest, RBS, Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds and Santander are all cutting rates, hitting loyal savers particularly hard. Customers should vote with their feet and move their cash to better deals. On Monday, Natwest began the purge by cutting its Cash Isa and Instant Saver rates to the bone.

Only 35 per cent of Britons are following government advice and use three random words for their passwords online, a poll from Ipsos MORI suggests. This is Money shows you the clever tools to make your password stronger to help defeat the cyber criminals.

ESSENTIAL GUIDES TO SAVING

Making the most of your annual Isa allowance is the cornerstone of wise saving. There's no income tax to pay on interest and no capital gains tax on profits. This makes them ideal for long-term savings because money that is not taxed grows faster. This essential guide reveals, how to start using an Isa for your savings. ...read
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Although cash Isas don't currently offer fantastic rates, it is still worthwhile opening one to shield money away from the taxman. Our savings correspondent Lee Boyce picks his five favourite cash Isas for savers in 2016 - essential reading to help you choose a top savings account for your money. This page is kept up-to-date throughout the year - bookmark it for the very latest developments.

SAVINGS ESSENTIALS

LATEST PREDICTIONS: What next for savings rates (and should you fix)?Savings rates have a crucial impact on everyone's finances and the economy. But when will they rise? And what are currently the best accounts to go for? We round up expert views on what next for savings rates, the latest news and analysis and how to make the most of your nest egg.